Ranking the DC Animated Universe

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From Mask of the Phantasm to Green Lantern: First Flight, we rank the best and worst of DC's animated films.

By Phil Pirrello & Jesse Schedeen

When it comes to our favorite DC Comics superheroes, waiting for them to make the transition to Hollywood is a serious exercise in patience and frustration. But even if movies like Green Lantern, Wonder Woman, Superman: Man of Steel, and Batman 3 are a long time in coming, we do have one consolation. DC's library of animated movies continues to grow at a steady rate. The newest addition to this family is Justice League: A Crisis on Two Earths, which hits DVD and Blu-ray on February 23.

To celebrate this newest animated effort, we've decided to rank all of DC's previous cartoon movie fare. We're only counting movies that were released in theaters or on DVD first, so projects like The Batman Superman Movie and Justice League: Starcrossed are out of the running. Everything else is fair game, though, as we sort through the best and worst DC's animated lineup has to offer.

Given its oddball status, we're not sure where to rank this one. Anyone who has read the Watchmen graphic novel will remember the "Tales From the Black Freighter" segments. These snippets of a comic-within-a-comic might have seemed pointless at first glance, but it soon became apparent that writer Alan Moore was using them to reinforce and build the same themes explored in the main story.

Watchmen fans were understandably excited when they learned Black Freighter was being produced as a short animated movie. However, Warner Bros.' first released the movie as a standalone DVD alongside the theatrical release of Watchmen. It quickly became apparent that the story didn't function nearly as well on its own. Worse still, though the animation occasionally evoked the intricately rendered pencil work of Dave Gibbons, for the most part Black Freighter wore its low budget on its sleeve.

Yes, Black Freighter was an accurate interpretation of the comic book story. But it functions far better as a supplement to the larger Watchmen film than it does as its own entity. Those with the patience for an even longer version of Watchmen can see Black Freighter inserted where it belongs in Watchmen: The Ultimate Cut. Everyone else would do well to just ignore this DVD and grab the graphic novel instead.

We all had such high hopes for Green Lantern: First Flight. The Green Lantern comics have been on top of the superhero mountain ever since writer Geoff Johns began to reinvigorate the franchise with Green Lantern: Rebirth. With its strong focus on the early days of rookie GL Hal Jordan and his Training Day-style relationship with future nemesis Sinestro, we thought First Flight could replicate the same appeal of the comics. Sadly, we were mistaken.

The movie's flaws are many, from an almost total lack of focus on Hal's life on Earth to a poorly defined supporting cast to a generally rushed script. What it boils down to is that First Flight captures little of the excitement and emotional resonance of the comics. It tried to cover too much ground in its limited time frame and ignored too much in the process.

First Flight looks good, we'll give it that. There is a certain appeal in seeing all the bright, colorful space battles unfold. But whereas action and eye candy might have been enough for Superman/Batman: Public Enemies, it doesn't come close to saving this one. First Flight stands as the single biggest disappointment in DC's animated DVD flock. The stage has been set for adaptations of The Sinestro Corps War and even Blackest Night, but based on the quality of this film we're no longer sure we want them.

File this under "noble misfire." Gotham Knight tried to capitalize on Dark Knight fervor, and sure, discs flew off the shelves. But does anyone talk about how good that one anime segment was, or how you soooooo has to watch this collection of Batman vignettes? No, they don't. And given the creative resources used here, you would think they should.

Gotham Knight doesn't quite live up to any standard you set for it. On their own, the shorts aren't very memorable. Most hit themes we've seen or read before, and four of the six lack traditional Batman villains. The better segments were generally those featuring well-known villains. These pieces had to make a big impression incredibly fast. Those dabbling in minutiae just didn't hold our attention.

Other standards might try to determine how this film fits alongside Christopher Nolan's vision. It doesn't. Perhaps fearful of stepping on toes, perhaps ordered to steer clear of anything remotely related, perhaps simply uninformed, Gotham Knight's team really fails to make this feel familiar, or worthwhile.

David Goyer, one of the writers of Nolan's films, is responsible for the segment that started to turn Gotham Knight around for us. Featuring Scarecrow and Killer Croc, "In Darkness Dwells" brings out familiar villains, which was great to see. This let Batman do something besides fight generic henchmen. Goyer creates a reasonable explanation for Croc, fitting him somewhat within the boundaries that exist for this universe. If you have the option of just watching one segment (borrowing a friend's copy, perhaps?), be sure to make it this one.

It's understandable if fans of Batman: The Animated Series ignored DC's more recent Saturday morning attempt, The Batman. That series skewed younger, offering a more anime-esque, action-oriented take on the Caped Crusader compared to the darker, character-driven tales older fans were used to.

But while the series itself was fairly uneven, one of its best efforts came in the form of Batman vs. Dracula. Inspired at least somewhat by the Elseworlds comic Batman/Dracula: Red Rain and its sequels, this movie did exactly what it advertised – it pitted Batman against the Lord of the Vampires.

Naturally, Batman vs. Dracula was nowhere near as dark or bloody as Red Rain, but it still played out as a more mature and violent incarnation of the TV series. This adventure offered plenty of strong villains for Batman to test his mettle against, including both recurring favorites like Penguin and Joker as well as the big bad Dracula himself. As an added treat, Vicki Vale finally made her animated debut as a love interest for Bruce.

The Batman may never have managed to top its predecessor in adult appeal, but Batman vs. Dracula proves well enough that the show wasn't without its merits.

We've decided to lump Batman and Mr. Freeze: Sub-Zero and Batman: Mystery of the Batwoman together, both in the interest of keeping the countdown to 10 movies and because both are similar in intent and quality. Both movies came at a time when interest in the Batman animated series was waning with TV audiences. Both managed to reinvigorate the characters and showcase villains both large and small.

Sub-Zero pits the Dynamic Duo against Mr. Freeze when the latter seeks to use Batgirl's DNA to restore his cryogenically frozen wife. As always, Freeze emerges as one of the most tragic and captivating villains in the animated Bat-verse. Though the production values and the awkward blend of CG and traditional animation hindered the film a bit, it still proved to be another memorable jaunt through Gotham.

Mystery of the Batwoman came after the revamped New Batman Adventures had run its course. This movie succeeded in offering a new romantic entanglement for Bats even as he tried to solve the identity of the mysterious new female vigilante stalking the streets. Mystery of the Batwoman too suffered from relatively sup-bar animation quality. The presence of Bane, a villain who has never fared well in animated form, didn't help either. On the plus side, the DVD included the animated short "Chase Me," one of the best things ever to come out of the animated series.

Both Sub-Zero and Mystery of the Batwoman have the unfortunate luck of playing second fiddle to the peerless Mask of the Phantasm. But that hardly means fans of Batman's animated adventures should pass them up.

"Public Enemies," the first story arc of Jeph Loeb's Superman/Batman series, was essentially one big-budget action movie distilled into six comic book issues. It's fitting this bombastic story was translated to an animated movie with relatively few changes made.

As in the comic, Lex Luthor has ascended to the presidency of the United States. This doesn't sit well with Superman or Batman, for obvious reasons. But when the imminent impact of a Kryptonite meteor threatens all life on Earth, Supes suddenly finds himself with a billion dollar bounty on his head and dozens of supervillains crying out for blood.

If you're searching for an intricate story and deep characterization, you'd be better off looking elsewhere. Public Enemies is a big, stupid action movie and very proud of it. And that's alright by us. The dynamic action sequences that DC's newer animated movies have become known for are back in full force. It also helps that Tim Daly, Kevin Conroy, and Clancy Brown reprised their voiceover roles as Superman, Batman, and Lex Luthor, respectively.

Certainly, Public Enemies could have done with a little less punching and a little more exposition at points, and the giant robot finale was no less goofy on screen than it was on the page. But for those DC fans who just want to be entertained for an hour or two, Public Enemies delivers in spades.